606.474.3226 / 606.474.3227 / Finaid@kcu.edu
Sandi Peppard Taylor Johnson Barbara Carper
Director of Financial Aid Financial Aid Counselor Financial Aid Counselor
sjpeppard@kcu.edu tajohnson@kcu.edu bscarper@kcu.edu
• All students need to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as possible. This application is free and available at https://studentaid.gov/.
• For a dependent student (answering “No” to all FAFSA Dependency questions), the student AND both parent will need to create a unique FSA ID (username and password). This is how each of you will electronically sign the FAFSA. Make sure to keep these FSA IDs in a safe place so you can easily access them for future years.
• For an independent student (answering “Yes” to any FAFSA Dependency question), only the student will need an FSA ID.
• KCU’s school code is 001965.
After you are admitted as a KCU student and your FAFSA is processed, you will receive a Financial Aid Offer. Each of the financial aid items appearing on your Financial Aid Offer need to be accepted or declined by you before they can be applied to your school bill. Your Financial Aid Offer will not be available for you to see in the KCU student portal until your FAFSA is completely processed. If you are unable to see any financial aid awards, contact our Financial Aid Office quickly to ask if your financial aid application is ready to be processed.
To accept your Financial Aid Offer:
• Log in to your KCU student portal (instructions on page 4).
• Click on “My Financial Aid” along the left side.
• Click on “Menu” at the top of the page.
• Click “Accept Financial Aid Offers” from the drop-down menu.
• Review and agree to the “Terms and Conditions.”
• Review the offer and either click on “Accept All” or change “Pending” to “Accept” or “Decline” along
the right side for each item listed.
• Click on “Submit.”
If you accept a Federal Direct student loan as part of your Financial Aid Offer, there are two additional steps required to complete the loan process before the loan amount(s) can be applied to your student account. For more information about student and parent loans, please visit KCU’s Loan Requirements webpage.
1. Complete Student Loan Entrance Counseling
Entrance counseling is an interactive tutorial that shows you how to understand your loans, manage your spending, and make a plan to repay your student loans. You will need about 30 minutes to complete the tutorial.
• Go to https://studentaid.gov/entrance-counseling/.
• Click “I am an undergraduate student.”
• Log in using your FSA ID and complete the tutorial.
2. Complete and sign the Master Promissory Note (MPN)
This is a legal document that you must read and sign promising to pay back your federal student loans. It takes less than 30 minutes to complete. The MPN explains your rights and responsibilities as a student loan borrower and is valid for up to 10 years.
• Go to https://studentaid.gov/mpn/.
• Select “I’m an undergraduate student.”
• Log in using your FSA ID and complete the steps to read and sign the MPN.
The Federal Direct Parent PLUS loan is available to an eligible undergraduate student’s parent to fill the funding gap that may exist between the student’s cost of attendance (also known as the student’s financial aid budget) and all available financial aid sources that the student has accepted.
The eligibility requirements for a PLUS loan are fairly simple. The parent borrower must be the biological or
adoptive parent of a dependent undergraduate student enrolled at least half time. To qualify for a PLUS Loan, the parent borrower must not have an adverse credit history. If the parent’s PLUS loan application is denied, the student could become eligible for an additional $4,000 in unsubsidized student loan for the school year. If the parent’s PLUS loan application is approved, the parent may borrow up to the full amount of the student’s cost of attendance, minus the student’s accepted financial aid, to cover the student’s educational costs for that schoolyear. IMPORTANT: Do not apply for a PLUS loan until there are less than 60 days before the first day of the semester. The credit check is only effective for 60 days. For additional information, visit
https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans/plus/parent.
The parent borrower should complete the Parent PLUS Loan Application at https://studentaid.gov/plus-
app/parent/landing.
• Select “I am a Parent of a Student” then “I am a Parent of an Undergraduate Student.”
• Log in using your own FSA ID. If the parent applying for the Parent PLUS Loan is not the same parent who
signed the FAFSA, then the parent borrower must request an FSA ID, which could take 1-3 days to process.
• Click on “Request a Direct PLUS Loan.”
• Scroll down and click on “Parent PLUS.”
• Fill out the application (4 different sections). You will receive a decision within a few minutes on your application’s approval or denial.
• If denied, simply click out of the window. You will receive a follow-up email from our Financial Aid Office. You MUST respond to this email in order for us to proceed with the additional unsubsidized loan for the student.
• If approved, you should complete the Parent PLUS Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN) at
https://studentaid.gov/mpn/?mpnType=parentPlusMpn.
Please keep this information for future reference
Student FSA ID
Username: _______________
Password: _______________
Parent FSA ID
Username: _______________
Password: _______________
